Democrats Poised To Pick Up Seats In Final House Tally

Two weeks after Election Day, the results are almost final. It appears the U.S. House of Representatives will be filled with 234 Republicans and 201 Democrats, though the outcome is not yet official in two states.

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Originally published on November 20, 2012 5:00 pm

Two weeks after Election Day, it appears the partisan makeup of the new House of Representatives will be 234 Republicans and 201 Democrats, although the outcome is not yet official in two states.

One result that did become clear on Tuesday: Republican Rep. Allen West, a Tea Party favorite, conceded to Democrat Patrick Murphy in Florida.

Unresolved races remain in Louisiana and North Carolina.

A new district map forced two Republican incumbents to run against each other in Louisiana. They will meet in a runoff on Dec. 8.

In North Carolina, Democratic incumbent Mike McIntyre appears to have won a ninth term in the district that includes counties around Cape Fear and Wilmington. But just 655 votes separate him from Republican challenger David Rouzer. That's within the 1 percent margin that permits a recount, and on Tuesday, Rouzer exercised his right to ask for one.

The recount begins Monday.

If McIntyre holds, the Democrats will have gained ground on the majority Republicans. Not enough to take control, as they would have hoped, but more than had seemed possible in the runup to Election Day.

"In the waning days of the campaign, there was some optimism on the part of Republicans [that] they could actually add to their majority," says David Wasserman, who analyzes the House of Representatives for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "What ended up happening was a mild success for Democrats. They ended up picking up a net gain of eight seats in the House and getting to 201 seats."

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Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

With Allen West out, we got a clearer picture today of the partisan makeup of the new House of Representatives. Republicans will have 234 seats, Democrats 201, though that number could still shift a bit. As NPR's S.V. Date reports, races in two states are still too close to call.

S.V. DATE, BYLINE: One House race remains unresolved in Louisiana, where a new district map forced two Republican incumbents to run against each other. They'll meet in a runoff on December 8th. And in North Carolina, Democratic incumbent Mike McIntyre appears to have won a ninth term in the district that includes counties around Cape Fear and Wilmington. But just 655 votes separate him from Republican challenger David Rouzer. That's within the 1 percent margin that permits a recount, and today, Rouzer exercised his right to ask for one.

The recount won't even begin until Monday and might not be finished until a week from tomorrow. If McIntyre holds, the Democrats will have gained ground on the majority Republicans. Not enough to take control, as they would have hoped, but more than had seemed possible in the run-up to Election Day.

DAVID WASSERMAN: In the waning days of the campaign, there was some optimism on the part of Republicans they could actually add to their majority.

DATE: David Wasserman analyzes the House of Representatives for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

WASSERMAN: What ended up happening was a mild success for Democrats. They ended up picking up a net gain of eight seats in the House and getting to 201 seats.

DATE: Democratic campaign spokesman Jesse Ferguson says as important as the final number is the makeup of that total, most of them are women and minorities.

JESSE FERGUSON: The Democratic caucus will look like America in 2012, while the Republican caucus still looks like, you know, a rerun of a "Mad Men" episode.

DATE: And that's a demographic challenge many Republicans have already conceded they need to address before the next election. S.V. Date, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.